To short sale or not to short sale?

This definitely is a question on numerous
Arizona home owners minds these days!!

Many sellers are in a quandary about what path they should take regarding the future of their home. We are asked by troubled homeowners for advice daily.

“Should we stay and make payments on our home when we are upside down?    Do we stop making payments before the bank will talk with us about a short sale?    Should I try to short sale my home?    What exactly is a short sale anyway and am I qualified?    Should I simply let my home go into foreclosure or possibly declare bankruptcy?    If I do attempt the short sale, will the bank accept my hardship?    Will the bank release me from the debt?    How long will it be before I can restore my credit and purchase a home again?”

The questions seem endless in this uncertain real estate market.
Unfortunately as their realtor, we cannot answer most of these Arizona homeowner questions. We can provide comparable sales to give them the information about the value of their home in today’s market place. We can provide a homeowner with the average days on market and average price of sales per square foot of comparable homes in their neighborhood. We do have multiple valuable resources to give them about the process of Arizona Short Sales and Foreclosures.  But, we cannot give legal or accounting advice because we are not qualified to answer these questions. We do have excellent references for professional Arizona attorneys and accountants who can give them advice to those difficult and emotional questions the homeowner is asking. We even have references for professionals that can help with credit repair in these difficult circumstances.

If you are a homeowner and are uncertain which path to take, it is better to seek advice as early as possible to prevent your situation from going out of your control. One of the first things you can try is to modify your existing loan to reduce the monthly payments. Once you are late on your mortgage payments in Arizona, the bank will eventually send a 90-day notice of foreclosure. When this time period begins, it is difficult (but not impossible to stop). You can pay off the debt including back payments and penalties or you can list your home as a short sale and hopefully submit an offer of purchase from an interested buyer to the bank before the home goes to foreclosure auction. If the bank receives the offer before the foreclosure auction date, they will often extend the foreclosure date in increments of 30 days while they review the offer. They will review the seller short sale package, review the buyer qualifications and obtain a value on the property. It they deem the buyer and seller qualified to continue with the sale transaction, they then determine if the net proceeds will be higher than the cost and net of a foreclosure.

Please check our articles on Short Sale Help, Short Sale FAQ or Short Sale vs Foreclosure

To short sale or not short sale???? Consult with qualified professionals with all your questions as each individual scenario is unique and the answer will depend on your situation!!

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